Even Bad Wolves Can Be Good
by Isra
Summary: A Remus/Tonks fic. I think it's high time JK created a canon female character i can hook Lupin up with. It's Halloween, post-OOTP; Hot tea, red capes and other general musings can often lead to lordknowswhat in Grandmother's house.
1. Chapter 1

It was Halloween, and Remus was on duty. No, not that kind, the one involving getting out on the streets and being on surveillance. No, this was the mind numbing long haul know as house sitting. Grimmauld Place--headquarters of The Order, the base of operations, and the darkest, most repressing setting Remus could imagine. Even The Shrieking Shack had nothing on THIS house.

It was some time after eleven but before the half hour--Remus knew this because he vaguely recalled that the clock had chimed. He tried passing the time with--what else?--a book; though, truth be told, browsing through the Black family library had been an adventure. He knew books could be dangerous, but he never thought that some of them actually went for the throat. He finally settled for "The History of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black"--but eleven pages in he threw the book down in disgust. It laid there on the floor, next to the fireplace. Remus failed to care whether or not sparks fell on it. 

He stretched, gazing around the drawing room. How did Sirius ever manage to live here for those months, trapped in this black private hell? He thought of his friend--he escaped from one prison to resign himself to another. He wished his friend could have seen happier times before his death--but enough of that, before the memories brought back the sadness as well. Before the thoughts brought back the pain that was still sharp, even after these five months…

A soft rapping outside the drawing room ripped his attention away from his own thoughts. Remus rose to his feet, the surprise of the sound triggering his adrenaline--the house seemed to become alive as his senses became sharper.

He stood still, straining his ears to hear the sound again. Could it have been the result of his boredom and isolation in the house?

But the knock came again, this time, louder. It came from the front door, and who ever was knocking was obviously trying to make their presence known without disturbing the house.

Remus hurried to the door, making his footsteps light but quick. The picture of Mrs. Black was sleeping behind the curtains. Best to keep it that way. 

The knocking came again, this time more persistent. Remus smirked as he recognized that only Tonks used "Shave and a Haircut" to make her presence know. But Tonks had the night off--what would she be doing here?

Remus opened the floor. 

"TRICK OR TREAT!!"

"BASTARD HALF BREED! SOWER OF EVIL AND BAD BLOOD! EATER OF INNOCENCE! BE GONE FROM MY ANCESTRAL--"


	2. Chapter 2

"Tonks," Remus said, staring at her in disbelief. They had just successfully silenced the very opinionated Mrs. Black, and had retreated to the drawing room to have a conversation at a normal volume level. "What are you--what is that--er--"

Her heart-shaped face and black braided pigtails peeked out of a bright red cape and hood. Tonks was grinning at him, even though she was drowning in a sea of red. Remus fought the urge to jump in and save her.

"Can't you guess what I am? Come on, I just came from a costume party, take a stab."

"Tonks, I haven't got a clue." Remus admitted.

"Come on! The people at the party guessed right! Of course, they couldn't figure out who _I_ was, but they knew who I was pretending to be…"

"…a tomato?"

"A tomato! Oh for the love of--" Tonks threw back the cloak, revealing a violet and red ensemble that DEFINITELY revealed Tonks in all her glory. "I'm Little Red Riding Hood!"

Remus blinked. "Look here, Tonks, but I'm sure that Little Red Riding Hood never looked like THAT."

"Well, you see…" Tonks began, swinging back and forth in a slightly embarrassed manner. "It was one of the last one's at the store, and it really came down to 'Sexy Healer', 'Sexy French Maid', or 'Sexy Little Red Riding Hood'."

"Why the Little Red Riding Hood though?"

"Well…it was the--how you say--LEAST revealing."

"…Oh."

"Yea. Say, Remus, up for a cuppa? It's frigid outside!" Tonks suggested as she started for the kitchen. Remus took up the red herring, and followed the red cape. 

~*~

"You know, I once burned water," Tonks said, conversationally. Remus mused if that was a hint of pride he heard in her voice. 

"I know your culinary skills are something to be desired," he said, looking at Tonks' reflection in the teapot he was filling, "but that's just nonsense. No one can BURN water, it's im--"

"RE-mus!" Tonks whined as she sat on the kitchen table, swinging her legs in a very childish manner. "Let me finish my story!"

Remus' face relaxed into a smirk as he looked up at Tonks. With the black pigtails and floucy dress, Tonks could have been a six year old. A very _indecent _six year old, come to think of it. If Little Red Riding Hood had looked like _that_, who could have blamed the wolf?

Remus decided to concentrate on the teapot. Goodness, the water came out of the faucet in barely a trickle. True, he knew nothing of plumbing, but it would probably be a good idea to have a look at the pipes, have a see at what was--

"…so I decided a cup of tea was just what I--Remus, you're not _listening._" Tonks reprimanded sharply.

Hum? Oh yes, the teapot. Er…

"I'll start fetching the mugs and what not," Tonks offered cheerfully. She hopped off the table. 

Who could have blamed the wolf indeed?

"So, I had to boil the water the muggle way, seeing as I was only eight years old and visiting my grandparents--my muggle ones of course, they're the nice ones, we ALWAYS visit them--and I got the teapot and filled it and put in on the stove--which was a feat in itself, I assure you, since they had this queer glass teapot that just begged to be dropped--and I figured I'd watch a bit of television, since we didn't have a muggle contraption like that at home, and some times it could be rather exciting to watch. Well, I guess I forgot to put the top with the whistle on the teapot, because I forgot all about the pot and having a cup of tea, and the next thing I know, gran and gramps and mum and dad are in the kitchen, and gran is saying 'oh what should we do?' and gramps is saying 'stand back!' and dad and mum are fighting whether or not to use magic; well, it turns out all the water evaporated, and the teapot melted to the stove! We had to sit and wait until the glass cooled and then grandpa tried to chip the glass off the stove, but that didn't work so dad tried with magic, but he made the teapot and the stove burner disappear altogether!

"They never let me near the stove again--opps!" Something fell and shattered on the floor.

"Was that a mug, Tonks?" Remus asked as he brought the teapot to the table.

"At least it wasn't the sugar bowl again!"

Remus chuckled as he touched the tip of his wand to the pot--steam shot out of the teapot, filling the kitchen with a high pitched, pleasing whistle. "Tonks, you never cease to amaze. You truly are one of a kind."

"After all, how many people have ACTUALLY figured out how to burn water? 'Tis a skill few possess, Remus," she declared, shaking her spoon at him.

They prepared their tea in pleasant silence--mint tea with milk and sugar for Tonks, earl grey with milk for Remus.

Remus glanced at Tonks from time to time, and a silly, content feeling rose up inside him. To think about Tonks during times like these, when it was just the two of them and for a few hours they could forget that outside a war was being fought and blood was being shed--well, he couldn't help but think about what had brought them here--_here_ being the emotional levels of camaraderie and friend. 

And to think, if it hadn't been for Buckbeak, none of this would have come to light…


End file.
